Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) runs against the San Francisco 49ers in the first quarter of a preseason NFL football game in San Francisco, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) runs against the San Francisco 49ers in the first quarter of a preseason NFL football game in San Francisco, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press

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Injury to Texans' Foster complicates matters

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SAN FRANCISCO — It was his longest gain of the evening, a 9-yard scamper late in the first quarter of the Texans’ 30-7 preseason victory over the 49ers at famed Candlestick Park.

Arian Foster rose to his feet, felt something wrong in his left leg and hopped to the sideline.

Once there, he flung his helmet and refused immediate treatment, disgusted that he’d tweaked a strained hamstring that shelved the NFL’s reigning rushing champion for 10 days of training camp.

Later, when Foster draped a towel over his head and sat in solitude on a bench, you could almost feel how much it hurt.

“It’s a part of life,” Foster said. “It’s a roller-coaster ride. You’ve got to remain even-keeled. It didn’t pop or anything like that. It’s a re-aggravation of what I already had.”

As Foster pointed out this month, hamstring injuries have a tendency to linger. He estimated “about 70 percent” of all hamstring problems are recurring. He trusts his body, and more importantly, he understands his body, which is why his reaction Saturday was startling.

“It’s more frustration because he’s been dealing with it throughout camp,” said Texans coach Gary Kubiak, who thought the cooler temperatures might have been a factor. “I don’t think he ever really got loose and got going.”

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Foster and the Texans might have to live with this for a while, which means millions — yes, millions — of fantasy football owners will agonize for the foreseeable future about where he should be drafted or when he should be played.

And really, that was the only drama — if it could be called that, depending ultimately on your stance on fantasy athletics — that emanated from Saturday’s rout.

“We’ve got, what, 15 days? We’ll keep our fingers crossed that he recovers,” said Kubiak, referring to the time before the Sept. 11 season opener against Indianapolis at Reliant Stadium. “We don’t think it’s anything worse than what we were dealing with before.”

If it is, though, there is substantial evidence Ben Tate, the 2010 second-round choice, is the genuine article — at least during the preseason.

Also, former 1,000-yard rusher Derrick Ward (six carries, 13 yards) returned from a concussion, scoring a touchdown (in addition to a lost fumble).

With so many threats throughout the offense, it’s conceivable the Texans could weather a Foster void. But would Foster, a former undrafted rookie free agent, allow himself to sit and temporarily cede his starting spot to someone like Tate (11 carries, 52 yards), whom the Texans liked enough and went ahead and drafted?

Plus, Foster is playing for a new contract; can he afford to be patient with this type of injury? “I think Arian understands if he performs this year, shows that he can be consistent, he’ll be rewarded,” said Texans owner Bob McNair on Aug. 10. “That’s how the game works, but you don’t do it based on one season.”

The Texans are markedly better with Foster in the lineup. He provides a dimension out of the backfield with his ability to catch the ball — quarterback Matt Schaub was targeting the running back on the first play from scrimmage that 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks intercepted — the other backs on the roster haven’t shown the capacity to match.

He carried eight times for 38 yards in less than a quarter of work.

He’s been a workhorse, but does he need to be?

A popular question early in training camp was whether Foster could match or exceed last season’s statistics — 1,616 yards on the ground, another 604 (on 66 receptions) through the air.

Usually, he would just brush off the topic, emphasizing it was a new season.

But his linemen piped up, such as right tackle Eric Winston. It wouldn’t be a shame if Foster didn’t have the same sort of season, Winston reasoned, because those type of years don’t happen often.

And, he asked, who cares as long as the Texans were successful?

Which is precisely the kind of logic that makes fantasy football owners cringe.